


Tuesdays

by keeeponsmilingg (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 07:06:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1156595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/keeeponsmilingg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Liam run into each other every Tuesday in the parking lot after school. It seems like fate, until it's totally not. At all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tuesdays

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



It had kind of become a thing now.

It would've been amusing, really, if it wasn't _Liam_.

You see, Harry wasn't known for much at his high school. He wasn't really a loser, but he wasn't exactly popular either. He was just kind of.. there. But if there was one thing that set him apart from the rest, it was that he was a major klutz. Unlike every other teenage boy's growth spurt, his gangly, long limbs didn't work to his advantage. Ever.

Except for the fact that, now, his clumsiness might give him the tiniest, most minute semblance of an advantage.

It was February, and snowing a lot. February also meant that Harry had finally gotten his driving license, and now drove to school on his own. He was "cool" now.

Except that he wasn't.

At the end of every day, when the bell rang and students were finally dismissed, Harry strolled out to his car, books under one arm as he casually showed off his new Green Bay lanyard that he bought over the weekend. He was looking up at the sky, checking out the snow like any normal person would after another Tuesday trapped in the prison they called public school when BAM, a body collided with his, knocking him, and all of his books, to the ground.

"Woah! You alright there?" the person said, and offered Harry his very large, very _warm_ hand. Harry panicked, lying flat on his back on the stark, icy parking lot, and decided that staying there, dying right in the middle of the parking lot, sounded quite alright at the moment because he recognized those Jordan's, and he was _not_ standing up, never in a billion years.

Nope.

"Sorry, I um, didn't see you there," Harry apologized lamely, and grabbed Liam's hand to pull himself up off the concrete. He didn't want to be rude, and he was not going to waste this once in a lifetime opportunity, no matter how badly he just embarrassed himself in front of the most popular boy in school.

"'S no problem, mate," Liam replied happily as he bent down to grab Harry's books out of the snow, and it was beyond Harry how someone could be so happy after just being ran into.

"That's a good book," Liam commented, handing Harry his copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_.

"Yeah. We're reading it. For Honors English," Harry finally managed, tucking the pile of books underneath his arm.

"Yeah, I can see that," Liam laughed airily, fiddling with the keys in his hand. An awkward silence followed.

"Well, Harry, I'll uh, see you around?" Liam said after a minute, leaning away like he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Oh, yeah. Sure. See ya around," Harry replied quickly, knowing he was probably holding Liam up from getting, well... wherever he needed to be.

"And uh, thanks. For you know, helping me up," he added, knowing he sounded like such a pathetic twat who probably shouldn't have said anything else.

Liam, however, grinned. "No problem. See ya." He readjusted the backpack that hung from one shoulder and started toward his car.

"Yep, see you," Harry replied softly, now to himself, as he hopped in his car to turn on the freezing engine.

 _Love you_.

***

From then on, it seemed to happen every Tuesday afternoon. Harry somehow ran into Liam, either dropping his books, slipping on the ice, or a combination of the two. But never during school. Somehow they never really crossed paths during school, but Harry still knew who Liam was, even though he never really went to any school, besides the basketball games.

Harry made sure to go to Liam's basketball games. Even if he didn't keep the stats in the first row.

But the thing was, Liam never got mad at their interaction that seemed so coincidental. He'd just laugh, help Harry up, and make some random comment before they said their goodbyes and continued to their own cars, their own friends and their own social lives that were _ohso_ separate.

It was just that Liam was so nice. He was so earnest, and seemed genuinely interested in what Harry had to say.

Harry tried not to read into it.

It didn't work.

***

Niall's bed was covered in one part senior portraits and two parts potato chip crumbs. They were supposed to be working on the last few pages of the yearbook, but they stopped when Harry noticed that Liam was unsurprisingly voted the "sweetest" guy in the senior class.

"It's fate!" Niall shouted when Harry told him about his weekly run-ins with Liam.

"No it's fucking not, Niall. Shut up," Harry was sprawled out on the clean side of the bed as he shoved a handful of chips in his mouth. You could say that he and Niall were comfortable around each other.

"It is too, though. Running into the same person at the same time every week is not just coincidence. It's a sign!"

"He's a senior, Niall. A _senior_."

"And you're a sophomore. Big fucking whoop!" Niall replied, unfazed.

Harry shook his head. "You're not getting it. "t's not just about age. He's _popular_. And smart. And nice. And cute. _Really_ cute." Harry pouted. Life just wasn't fair.

"Dude, you're all of those things too!"

Harry quirked an eyebrow at his friend as he absentmindedly doodled hearts on the yearbook photocopy of Liam's smiling face.

"Seriously, go after him before it's too late," Niall urged. "Something this crazy doesn't just _happen_. How shit would it be if you never approached him and it turns out that he felt the same way?"

Niall's blue eyes were wide with total seriousness, which was such a rarity that Harry _knew_ he was right.

So, it was settled. He was going after the most popular- and most likely straight-- guy in the senior class.

***

The following Tuesday, Harry walked out of the school building with his books in his hand. He headed for his car just like usual, fully aware of what day it was. He didn't look around for Liam and he didn't walk any faster or slower, because if it was meant to be like Niall said, it would happen.

 _Fate_ , Harry chuckled to himself. _Good one, Niall_.

"Oops, sorry mate, didn't see you there!"

Harry looked up into the rootbeer DumDum sucker-brown eyes that belonged to none other than Liam Payne.

While Harry tried to keep his chest from beating out onto the parking lot, Liam bent down to said parking lot to pick up some of Harry's dropped books for him.

"You know, by now you'd think that you'd carry a bookbag..." Liam's voice trailed off suddenly and Harry looked up, his stomach dropping as he watched Liam's brown eyes crinkle in confusion as he stared at the paper in his hands. The paper that Harry had doodled on the other night at Niall's house.

 _Fuck_.

"Um, I can explain," Harry tried, his low voice barely a whisper as he worked to come up with a totally normal reason as to why there were hearts drawn around Liam's yearbook photo.

There wasn't one.

"No! Uh, um... it's f-fine..." Liam practically shoved the paper into Harry's hands, mumbling a "See ya, Harry" before he took off for his car.

Harry stared down at the yearbook photo as tears threatening to spill from his eyes. He should've known this was too good to be true.

***

The next Tuesday, Harry walked out of the school. He learned his lesson and finally carried a bookbag. It was slung over his shoulder.

Not that it mattered, since Liam wasn't gonna crash into him today. Harry had already scared him away last week. So Harry walked to his car, curls permanently in his eyes as long as he was out in the biting wind even though it was March now, and the lion should've been gone a long time ago.

"Hi, Harry." A familiar voice greeted him.

Harry looked up, and his heart nearly beat out of his chest and onto the parking lot for the second time.

"Liam? W-What are you doing here?" Liam, yes the Liam Payne was leaning against Harry's vehicle with his arms crosses casually.

"Um, can I talk to you real quick? I think we had some sort of... misunderstanding last week." Liam was biting his bottom lip, and Harry noticed his hands were curled into a fist.

"Did you forget to beat me up for liking you or something?" Harry's words surprised himself.

Liam's eyebrows furrowed together, like he was almost hurt, and Harry almost felt bad. "No, actually, quite the opposite. It's just cold as shit out here if I'm being honest."

"Oh, um.. sorry," Harry replied, flustered and surprised. "Here, get in."

Harry unlocked his car and jumped in the front seat to crank the heat up. Liam got in the passenger seat and they sat in awkward silence, shivering as they tried to get warm.

Liam fiddled with the air freshener hanging form Harry's mirror. "Gingerbread," he stated matter-of-factly.

Harry gathered up his courage and finally spoke. "So, uh, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Liam clasped his hands together. Harry noticed they were shaking slightly. "Well, uh, about us."

"Excuse me?" Harry asked. He must've heard Liam wrong. Here he was, sitting in his car, alone, with the most popular guy in school, and he just heard him say the U-word?

"I'll put it this way," Liam continued, fidgeting with his hands again. "The other day, when I saw what you drew around my picture..." he paused to swallow and Harry silently chanted _GET ON WITH IT_.

"I wasn't freaked out. I didn't run away because I didn't like you, Harry," he explained, shaking his head with a dry laugh. "I was just shocked."

"Shocked that I liked you?" Harry asked.

"No," Liam replied, finally looking Harry in the eyes. "Shocked that you liked me _back_."

And Harry just froze in place, completely surprised and speechless, that Liam asked, "Oh, and by the way, this probably sounds so pathetic but I've kinda sorta been running into you on purpose just to get you to notice me. I know, stupid, but I'm graduating this spring and I couldn't not approach you and can I just freaking kiss you already? I've been waiting for months now and it's all I've been thinking about and-"

Harry shook his head, "Shut up and kiss me, Liam."

So he did, and that's when he made his decision.

Harry quite liked Tuesdays.


End file.
